Jesus promised.  God said it.  His Holy Spirit prepares us for it.  Jesus IS coming back to take us to the place He has prepared for us—eternity.  In the meantime, we are “God-taught” in our preparation before He comes.  It is up to us to listen, trust, and obey as His Holy Spirit grows and matures His holy character traits in us.  It is God who makes us holy.  It is God who so loved that He sent His Son, Jesus to save us from the sins that makes us unholy.  We cannot do this for ourselves.  Only Jesus removes our sins completely—to be forgotten and no longer held against us!

Where would I go but to the Lord?  This old gospel hymn from my past is playing in the background of my mind to reassure me this morning.  I woke with this song on my mind—even before I read this passage.

Where could I go but to the Lord
Where could I go oh where could I go
Seeking the refuge for my soul
Needing a friend to save me in the end
Won’t you tell me
Where could I go but to the Lord        

Paul’s first letter to the beloved church in Thessalonica is to remind them to stay firmly planted in the faith driven by God’s love in them.  “God want you to live a pure life.”  Live to please God—even with our bodies.  You can feel the caring compassion for his friends as we read the words.                                                

1 Thessalonians 4, The Message

You’re God-Taught

4 ^1-3 One final word, friends. We ask you—urge is more like it—that you keep on doing what we told you to do to please God, not in a dogged religious plod, but in a living, spirited dance. You know the guidelines we laid out for you from the Master Jesus. God wants you to live a pure life.

Keep yourselves from sexual promiscuity.

^4-5 Learn to appreciate and give dignity to your body, not abusing it, as is so common among those who know nothing of God.

^6-7 Don’t run roughshod over the concerns of your brothers and sisters. Their concerns are God’s concerns, and he will take care of them. We’ve warned you about this before. God hasn’t invited us into a disorderly, grungy life but into something holy and beautiful—as beautiful on the inside as the outside.

⁸ If you disregard this advice, you’re not offending your neighbors; you’re rejecting God, who is making you a gift of his Holy Spirit.

^9-10 Regarding life together and getting along with each other, you don’t need me to tell you what to do. You’re God-taught in these matters. Just love one another! You’re already good at it; your friends all over the province of Macedonia are the evidence. Keep it up; get better and better at it.

^11-12 Stay calm; mind your own business; do your own job. You’ve heard all this from us before, but a reminder never hurts. We want you living in a way that will command the respect of outsiders, not lying around sponging off your friends.

The Master’s Coming

^13-14 And regarding the question, friends, that has come up about what happens to those already dead and buried, we don’t want you in the dark any longer. First off, you must not carry on over them like people who have nothing to look forward to, as if the grave were the last word. Since Jesus died and broke loose from the grave, God will most certainly bring back to life those who died in Jesus.

^15-18 And then this: We can tell you with complete confidence—we have the Master’s word on it—that when the Master comes again to get us, those of us who are still alive will not get a jump on the dead and leave them behind. In actual fact, they’ll be ahead of us. The Master himself will give the command. Archangel thunder! God’s trumpet blast! He’ll come down from heaven and the dead in Christ will rise—they’ll go first. Then the rest of us who are still alive at the time will be caught up with them into the clouds to meet the Master. Oh, we’ll be walking on air! And then there will be one huge family reunion with the Master. So reassure one another with these words.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

We are “God-taught” in all the details of life.  God’s Word is not hard to understand if we are listening with our hearts committed to God.  Love God.  Love each other.  Love as if your lives depended on it.  Today, Paul reminds us again— “Just love one another”!

But are we listening?  Are we trusting?  Are we leaning on the everlasting arms when times get tough?  Do we turn back quickly when we see evil trying to grasp our hearts?  Do we run to those arms that are held wide open when we have strayed?  Do we run home, our real home, where God resides where all is pure and holy?  These are personal questions that determine our spiritual health.  We need daily check ups to remain in tune with our Savior and Lord.

Paul also assures believers that Jesus is indeed coming back—just as Jesus said.  Only God knows when but He is coming back.  Just as the grave could not hold Jesus, the graves that hold believers will not hold them down for much longer.  When God says, it will happen.  This is our blessed assurance. This is our story—this is our song—of Life forever with Him.

Lord,

Thank you for your consistent blessed assurance, your tenacious God-taught lessons for a holy life, and your compassions for us that “fail not”—even when we fail you. Thank you for saving us from our sins and removing them as far as the east is from the west! Thank you for forgetting all sins repented and no longer holding them against us as humans can do.  Where would I go but to you in my life?  You are Life!

In Jesus Name, Amen